Tuesday, December 9, 2014

The Misty Isles of the Eld Take Shape

Where as the Dunes was mythic wilderness presented with the elements of an outdoors pointcrawl, the
Isles are shaping up to be an extra-planar (in this case the alkaline
wastes of the Cold Hell/Anti-Cantons) adventure wrapped up in an
18-point pointcrawl spread over three islands. Pinning it all down
are two dungeon sites (the body-horror Vat Complex and the
stage-facade Pagoda City) that are larger and weirder then the two
tent-pole dungeons of the Dunes.

My writing enthusiasm level has gone
from “tired but still feeling it” to “amped up, get out of my
way motherf*cka.” What's helped is seeing the art develop on both
projects: Jeremy Duncan's inspired grottiness (really a perfect fit for Marlinko) and Luka Rejec's irrepressibly charming and darkly funny work. Seriously on the Hydra
team page I will no sooner finish praising a piece only to find
another piece posted. And I find myself answering Luka's questions about "do the Isles have such and such?" with “they do now.”